Hi there all,
I have been a lurker here for a long time and a knife enthusiast for a few decades longer. When I was a child of 8 or 9 years old I had been given my first folding knife by my parents a few years before that. My skills had been improving and my interest in bushcraft or survival related things was growing. Most of my days were spent outside in Nature, whether it was a beautiful day or pouring down with rain (most days in the Netherlands
). Through this experience of being outside in Nature I connected with it on levels that I can only appreciate now as an adult. Especially when I see kids spend their days with tablets and forced into a thousand extra-curricular activities.... but I digress.
Disclaimer: I know people call this knife different kinds of names. I have always used to word Kukri so that's what I will use.
When I was 8 or 9 years old I had been given the SAS handbook. And if I recall correctly in that book they talked quite highly about the Kukri. So when I saw one lying for sale in a fleamarket I bought it without consideration. I just HAD to have it. I think I even remember not having enough money and just tearing through the crowds to find my parents and beg/pester them for the money I needed! I got the knife and I was sooooo happy with it. I have included some detailed pictures in this folder so you can get a sense of it.
As a child of 8 or 9 I didn't really know how to sharpen it or fix up the sheath, which already was in pretty much the exact same condition as you see it here. I revered this knife so much that I didn't want to put it at risk, also knowing it had a rat-tail design. So when I went to the local army dumpstore and was able to buy a Glock FM 81 knife, I got it immediately and used that for most of my days outside. I also started to gather a ton of other knives over the years that would follow. From folding knives to fixed blades. But if I were to go into that I would digress again.
For years and years after I became a teenager this knife sat in boxes and drawers and was forgotten. But over the past year or two I have been reconnecting with Nature in a big way and though I have good knives that serve my bushcrafting purpose I think it would be really cool if I could restore this knife to active use.
So I looked at the knife and put it through its paces with my rediscovered and newly formed skills. It serves as a great all-round bushcraft/survival knife. Its big enough for most chopping tasks, with its rounded belly and being forward heavy. The belly has a convex grind that holds an edge very well and hasn't dented in the slightest through its use. Then the concave bit near the handle has a different grind, not exactly convex but more like a full flat grind. I've used it for fine carving tasks and though its not as comfortable as my Izula it doesn't limit me at all. I also still absolutely Love its general shape and feeling in my hand. Nimble but heavy enough. Curved in all the right ways that add to its usefulness. And the fact it was my first fixed blade knife is also a great plus ^_^
My biggest gripe though is the handle... It sucks turds by the mouthful. I don't know how these are supposed to be used but the fact that the handle goes against the general back curve of the blade at the end is really annoying. It digs into my palm and makes me want to stop using it seconds after starting a chopping task. I also don't like the fact that its a rat-tail design.
As for the steel I of course have no way of knowing what steel was used. But so far the knife's edge retention is fine and I am confident it will continue to be fine. I contacted a Kukri expert and he said that most Kukris were made from leaf-spring steel (I forget what steel that is). So it should be tough enough. And if edge retention is any guide the heat treatment was done well.
I am thinking about taking off the outer parts of the handle and making a new full tang handle for it using some mild steel I have laying around. Just sortof follow the curve of the current blade and draw out a new handle shape for it, then cutting a slit down that handle in which the existing the rat tail would sit. I would then weld the two pieces together. I like the shape of this Shrade knife handle.
For a making the handle I am thinking about doing a Micarta wrap using a clear epoxy I already ordered. Seeing as this is gonna be a kind of tribute to my early days in nature I thought it might be nice to include memorabilia from those days into the handle. I am gonna include all kinds of cloth from clothing I still have, pieces of branch from a favorite tree, tanned hide I made as a kid and other memorabilia I kept around.
The blade itself I am wondering what to do with the existing patterning. Copy it to the other side too or remove it? Of course I need to take off that horrible chrome plating and figure out something to keep it from rusting. Maybe some gun blue?
Then the sheath I am thinking of having done by a local leather worker. A combination of regular and scout carry, with a small grind stone included as well. Maybe I will ask to reuse the existing parts of the wooden sheath, seeing as it is expertly crafted out of very lightweight wood. Either way, I don't have any leatherworking skills and no time to learn. Better to recognize your ignorance than putter around for days on end only to get a shitty result.
I think that's it!
I look forward to hearing your thoughts and taking you through this restoration.
Kind regards,
Bram
I have been a lurker here for a long time and a knife enthusiast for a few decades longer. When I was a child of 8 or 9 years old I had been given my first folding knife by my parents a few years before that. My skills had been improving and my interest in bushcraft or survival related things was growing. Most of my days were spent outside in Nature, whether it was a beautiful day or pouring down with rain (most days in the Netherlands
). Through this experience of being outside in Nature I connected with it on levels that I can only appreciate now as an adult. Especially when I see kids spend their days with tablets and forced into a thousand extra-curricular activities.... but I digress. Disclaimer: I know people call this knife different kinds of names. I have always used to word Kukri so that's what I will use.
When I was 8 or 9 years old I had been given the SAS handbook. And if I recall correctly in that book they talked quite highly about the Kukri. So when I saw one lying for sale in a fleamarket I bought it without consideration. I just HAD to have it. I think I even remember not having enough money and just tearing through the crowds to find my parents and beg/pester them for the money I needed! I got the knife and I was sooooo happy with it. I have included some detailed pictures in this folder so you can get a sense of it.
As a child of 8 or 9 I didn't really know how to sharpen it or fix up the sheath, which already was in pretty much the exact same condition as you see it here. I revered this knife so much that I didn't want to put it at risk, also knowing it had a rat-tail design. So when I went to the local army dumpstore and was able to buy a Glock FM 81 knife, I got it immediately and used that for most of my days outside. I also started to gather a ton of other knives over the years that would follow. From folding knives to fixed blades. But if I were to go into that I would digress again.
For years and years after I became a teenager this knife sat in boxes and drawers and was forgotten. But over the past year or two I have been reconnecting with Nature in a big way and though I have good knives that serve my bushcrafting purpose I think it would be really cool if I could restore this knife to active use.
So I looked at the knife and put it through its paces with my rediscovered and newly formed skills. It serves as a great all-round bushcraft/survival knife. Its big enough for most chopping tasks, with its rounded belly and being forward heavy. The belly has a convex grind that holds an edge very well and hasn't dented in the slightest through its use. Then the concave bit near the handle has a different grind, not exactly convex but more like a full flat grind. I've used it for fine carving tasks and though its not as comfortable as my Izula it doesn't limit me at all. I also still absolutely Love its general shape and feeling in my hand. Nimble but heavy enough. Curved in all the right ways that add to its usefulness. And the fact it was my first fixed blade knife is also a great plus ^_^
My biggest gripe though is the handle... It sucks turds by the mouthful. I don't know how these are supposed to be used but the fact that the handle goes against the general back curve of the blade at the end is really annoying. It digs into my palm and makes me want to stop using it seconds after starting a chopping task. I also don't like the fact that its a rat-tail design.
As for the steel I of course have no way of knowing what steel was used. But so far the knife's edge retention is fine and I am confident it will continue to be fine. I contacted a Kukri expert and he said that most Kukris were made from leaf-spring steel (I forget what steel that is). So it should be tough enough. And if edge retention is any guide the heat treatment was done well.
I am thinking about taking off the outer parts of the handle and making a new full tang handle for it using some mild steel I have laying around. Just sortof follow the curve of the current blade and draw out a new handle shape for it, then cutting a slit down that handle in which the existing the rat tail would sit. I would then weld the two pieces together. I like the shape of this Shrade knife handle.
For a making the handle I am thinking about doing a Micarta wrap using a clear epoxy I already ordered. Seeing as this is gonna be a kind of tribute to my early days in nature I thought it might be nice to include memorabilia from those days into the handle. I am gonna include all kinds of cloth from clothing I still have, pieces of branch from a favorite tree, tanned hide I made as a kid and other memorabilia I kept around.
The blade itself I am wondering what to do with the existing patterning. Copy it to the other side too or remove it? Of course I need to take off that horrible chrome plating and figure out something to keep it from rusting. Maybe some gun blue?
Then the sheath I am thinking of having done by a local leather worker. A combination of regular and scout carry, with a small grind stone included as well. Maybe I will ask to reuse the existing parts of the wooden sheath, seeing as it is expertly crafted out of very lightweight wood. Either way, I don't have any leatherworking skills and no time to learn. Better to recognize your ignorance than putter around for days on end only to get a shitty result.
I think that's it!
I look forward to hearing your thoughts and taking you through this restoration.
Kind regards,
Bram
